Anything to Survive
by KappaSigma13
Summary: I never asked for this. Yet here I am, facing all my worst fears in a domed arena fighting for my life. I would do anything to get back home. Anything to get out of this heck on Earth. Anything to survive.
1. Chapter 1

My heart pounded as I watched the clock count down from 10 to 1. I reviewed my plan over and over again in my head. There was a forest to my right and left, a grassy plain behind me, and the Cornucopia dead ahead. In the distance, I saw a tall mountain with powdery white snow sprinkled on the top. When the gong sounds, I will run. Run literally for my life, low to the ground to the nearest thing I can find, anything to survive. I wanted to stay as far away from the Cornucopia as I could. The bloodbath is the last thing I needed to get in right now. After I snatched a few objects, I would run to the left into the forest and climb the tallest tree I saw. I would only hunt and quench my thirst at night. My plan: run and hide, and let everyone kill themselves off. Then the gong sounded, and that's when everything went wrong.

I sprinted. Faster than I would have ever imagined I could have. So did all the other tributes. I knew my sister in District 7 would be watching. My sister? No, more like my mom. She's taken care of me since my actual mom died giving birth to me. That was 14 years ago. My dad left us when mom died. I guess you could say it was not a very happy beginning. And now, I am in The Hunger Games. Fighting for my life. Facing all my fears. As I ran, I thought of my sisters warm smile and inviting nature. And I thought of going home. I had to go back home. I will not be killed. I will not leave my older sister with no family. I had to go back. That's what gave me courage to face my first challenge.

I had reached the outskirts of the Cornucopia. I looked left and right as fast as I could. Something to my right caught my eye. A pair of socks and a small sheet of plastic. This could be the difference between life and death. As I ran, the female tribute from District 10 lunged strait at me. I had no idea where she had come from. She was a foot taller than me and twice my size, standing at a towering 6 feet, while I stood at just barely 5. She jumped right on top of me, pinning me down with ease. She brought up a knife to my face. I held my breath, as I knew very well that this could be my final moment. Then it happened. I kneed her in the stomach. She was taken aback by the sudden motion and the strength of the impact. This bought me some much valued time But that did not stop her. She rose up the knife again, and as she swung down, her body went limp. She collapsed right on me. I threw her heavy body off of me, struggling to complete the action due to her size. 15 feet away I saw the skillful spear thrower from District 2 that had killed the tribute that tried to kill me. I said a silent thank you to her and continued.

I ripped the spear out of the females back and grabbed the knife in her hand along with the plastic sheet and socks. I turned away, beginning to run to the forest. Then I felt the searing pain in my leg. I quickly glanced at it and saw that a knife had been jabbed in my calf by the male tribute from District 3. I turned to run to the forest again. The pain was too intense. My vision blurred. My heart beat at an unnatural rate, feeling like a million miles a minute. I had to alter my plan. There was no way I would be able to climb trees like this. I made a split second decision that may cost me my life. I whipped around and hobbled as fast as I could to the plain. The tall grass would keep me hidden until my injury healed. I brushed through the grass as far from the Cornucopia as I could, leaving a trail of blood behind me. I went as far from the other tributes as I could.

I counted one hundred, two hundred, three hundred yards until I was as far away from that pure heck as I could be. As I finally began to believe that I was safe, I heard the whisper of tributes and the brush of grass until I was completely surrounded.


	2. Chapter 2

I pushed myself back as far as I could. These tributes surrounding me want me dead. I couldn't see why, though. I can barely hold a weapon correctly, let alone hunt. I hardly have any survival skills and cannot fight. All I can do is climb trees and start fires. Looks like climbing trees won't come in handy anymore due to my injury. Fires in the Games are enough to get you killed. I only scored a 6 on my Private Training Session. But why do they want me dead? Maybe the more tributes that are dead the better chance of winning they have. Maybe they are trying to kill as many tributes in the beginning so they have less to worry about in the rest of the Games. Maybe it's just in their nature. I shrunk down and hugged my knees. As I prepared for death the second time today, I heard the crush of dead grass beneath quiet feet. Apparently the tributes surrounding me did too. They backed away and ran after whoever passed in the grass. I had to find a way to cover up my bloody leg because it already shows to be way too risky.

I grabbed some dead grass and wove them together to create a patch. I tied it around my wound to stop the bleeding. This would be easier if my hands weren't shaking so bad. Blood is the only thing that really gets me nauseated. I closed my eyes as I finished tying the knot around my calf. I slipped on both socks over it so stop any other bleeding that might occur. I would rather be safe than sorry, so I made five more patches out of grass and saved them for later. Hopefully this would cover up my tracks good enough to have me go unnoticed for a couple of days.

I slowly but quietly emerged from the grass. By now it was almost nightfall, and soon it would be time to see the fallen victors shown brightly in the sky. My wound was feeling a bit better now, but I had to watch out for infection. 10% of the tributes die from infection of wounds. I did not want something as simple as that to kill me. If I did die, I want to go down with a fight. I want to fight for my freedom. I will not let these games imprison me and make me someone I'm not. I am, and always will be, me.

I quietly made my way to the forest. I wanted to get to higher ground. Now that my wound was feeling a little better, I decided to try climbing a tree. I started small. It took a while, but eventually I climbed up a small tree on the outside of the forest. The size of the trees grew larger and taller as I roamed deeper into the forest. I found a large tree with many branches that would be easy for me to climb. With spear, knife, plastic, and patches in hand, I began to climb.

It was not easy. I hardly had any free hands to help lift me up. What made it even worse is that I was practically climbing one legged. I used all my upper body strength to lift myself up from branch to branch. I don't know how much time went by, but by the time I was towards the top of the tree it was extremely dark. As I settled down on a branch about 3 feet wide and 15 feet long, the Capitol anthem blared and showed the fallen. Ten people have died in the first day. Fourteen more to go.

I closed my eyes for a couple of hours and woke with the taste of blood in my mouth. I opened my eyes and licked my lips. They were cracking and bleeding. I needed to find some water to quench my thirst and to rinse out my calf wound.

I began climbing down slowly. If anyone was nearby, I didn't want him or her to hear me. I was about halfway down the tree when I heard many footsteps on the forest floor. I peered over the branch I was hanging on to see who it was. Then I slipped. I was hanging off the branch with one arm. I was struggling not to make a sound. I grasped helplessly at nothing but air. I was trying to prevent a scream that was building up inside me. It's hard though when you are about to plummet to your death. I looked down again to see the Careers. This made me want to scream even more. My breathing became rapid and my heart beat as fast as a drum of war. Then I heard what they were talking about.

"How many kills today?" asked a small but strong girl from District 1.

"8 today, more tomorrow!" Her District partner replied with such enthusiasm it made me sick.

"Guys, listen! Don't you hear that?" The boy from District 2 whispered harshly.

Everything went silent. I held my breath, but my heart was beating so fast I swear you could hear it from a mil away. I felt like the pounding of my heart was the only sound in the forest. I hung there helplessly, a cry of pure terror rising up my throat, hanging on for life.


	3. Chapter 3

My heart pounded as I dangled there helplessly over the bloodthirsty Careers. The only thought running though my mind, was, _live_. My arms trembled viciously as I tried another useless attempt to pull myself up. Again and again I tried but there was no point. I was virtually dead. I felt my right arm loosen its grip, followed by my left arm until I was falling to the forest floor below. Feet first was my only option. I bent my knees preparing for the impact, trying to make the fall as silent as possible. Hitting with a thud, I rolled backwards, getting leaves matted into my hair and dirt smeared on my face until I was at the base of another large tree. But that was not my main problem right now.

I felt a searing pain, fire throughout my bloodstream working its way to my calf. It was the worst pain I had ever felt. Blood streamed down from my wound, through its patch, seeping into my shoe. I could feel that horrible metallic taste filling up my mouth. The impact of the fall resulted me in biting my tongue so hard there was a large dent where my teeth had punctured through it. In a nearby bush I, rather harshly, spit out the blood that was overwhelming my taste buds. I peered up, making myself as small as possible, over the bush to see where the Careers were. I had no idea how loud I had been when I fell. They were nowhere to be seen.

I got up slowly and carefully from where I had been sitting. Climbing was definitely out of the question now. I had to form a new plan that would keep me out of sight and trouble for at least 24 hours. I could use the plan Foxface, a former tribute from the 75th games, used that kept her barely alive until she was killed by eating Nightlock, one of the poisonous berries of the forest. Her plan? Hide and steal from other tributes. But this was the 92nd Games. Everyone tribute now knows her plan and would guard all their possessions with their life. They would never do something as stupid as leave their food, the only thing keeping them alive, alone and unguarded. Foxface was brilliant, however too much knowledge in these Games can be deadly. I would never form an alliance. That is basically handing your life to someone and saying, "Why don't you just kill me now?" Besides, if anyone wanted to make an alliance with me, trust me, I'd be no help at all.

I limped up to the tree I had been resting on earlier. My spear, plastic, and patches were all still up on the branch right where I left them. There was no way I would try and climb up to get them, and I couldn't throw a rock to get them down. I needed to stay out of sight, and not bring attention to myself. My only option was to sleep on the floor tonight, tucked away as far as I could go. I found a large enough bush for me to fit in, close to the tree, and climbed into it as quickly and quietly as possible. My leg throbbed as I finally relaxed it. I listened to all the sounds of the forest. Owls, crickets, the brush of the breeze through the leaves. And for the first time today, I cried.

As I finally began to embrace sleep, I heard the cracking of twigs in the dead of night. I tightened all my muscles and held by breath. I heard the blood pounding through my ears. I closed my eyes and hoped and prayed whatever it was it would go away. But it didn't. It came closer and closer to where I was hiding. Then it stopped, no less than five feet away from where my bush and I were. I didn't dare look over to see what was there. Then, a blood-curdling voice broke the silence and peace of the forest.

"Looking for us?" the District One boy asked in his icy voice.

And for a moment, I swear my heart stopped.


	4. Chapter 4

My blood ran cold as I clawed my way out of the bush that I though was protecting me. I dove out to the only open space I could see, cutting my head and hands in the process. I didn't look back. I could hear the Careers right behind me, their weapons drawn, ready to kill their next victim. The pain in my leg was immense, and grew as I ran faster. Blood from my head trickled down into my eyes, blinding me until I could barely tell which way was left and which way was right. Slowly I slightly outran the Careers, giving me a few moments to catch my breath. I wiped the blood from my face and brushed my bloody hair back quickly with my fingers. As I started running again, I noticed the sun slowly rising in the east. The sky became a brilliant red-orange as my shadow grew long. I ran for a solid twenty minutes without a break until I found myself rolling in the dirt. I looked back and found a small tripwire had been connected from tree to tree. As I peered into the nearby bushes, I saw a small figure reach out for me and pull me in.

I stared in terror as I saw the figure on top of me, pinning my arms and legs down. Their hand quickly covered my mouth and motioned for me to be silent. I did as they asked as they crawled over me to the opening of the bush. I heard the banging of metal and saw they had throwing knives and a couple of spears. They crouched down so long, so quiet that I thought they forgot that I was there. That is until I heard the Careers coming our way. As the first Career ran by, they launched the first knife towards their stomach, but missed and hit their hip. As the next two ran they targeted both Careers necks, but just slightly missed and hit their shoulder. They had no idea what hit them. As they ran away in fear, the figure slowly crawled to me.

"Please don't hurt me!" I asked quickly, tears streaming down my face.

"Why would I hurt you," a female voice asked "we're alliances after all, aren't we?"

"Who are you?" I asked curiously.

"Don't recognize me? District 2, ring a bell?" she asked me as if I was an idiot.

Then it hit me. This was the girl that saved my life at the Cornucopia. She was the one that killed the District 10 tribute for me. She killed her, _for me_. I would be dead had she not done that.

"Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh." was all I could say. I wanted to thank her. I wanted to hug her. I wanted to crawl up in a little ball and cry. But I couldn't get anything out. I laid there numb, trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I took a long, shuddered breath and got myself together.

"Thank you." I said rather stupidly. What was I supposed to say?

"For what?" she asked, more interested in the knife she was holding.

"Everything. For saving my life, twice. Once at the Cornucopia- you killed the District 10 girl for me. And now- from the Careers. I don't know what else to say, but thank you."

"Eh, stop being grateful. Sure, I killed someone and saved your life more than once. I'll probably kill more people in these stupid Games. But don't hold it against me, okay sweetie?"

I sat up and faced her. Well that was rude. I was speechless.

"While you're over there bleeding yourself out, I'll take the first watch, okay?" she said rather cool, but gave a slight smile and a wink in my direction. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

"Okay." I crouched down and hugged my knees. For the first time in these Games, I embraced sleep and felt protected from the horrors in this arena.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke with the afternoon sun beating down on my face. It was a rather hot day- quite muggy and humid. My ally was sitting, extremely still once again, at the opening of the bush, rolling a knife between her fingers. I sat up quickly, wincing at the pounding of my head and leg. I felt my cut scalp- dried, caked on blood was throughout my hair, hard and crusty. I peered down at my calf, noting how swollen it was and the purple-red ring that was formed around it. Oh no, please don't be infected.

"Would you like me to take the next watch?" I whispered to the figure in front of me, as I walked to the front of the bush.

"Morning sunshine." She said half-heartedly. "Sure, take the next watch. Here's a knife, kill anyone you see that runs by. Wake me up if anything happens. When I get up I'll go hunt." she said as she settled down where I was just sleeping. Within moments, she was asleep.

I sat there for hours, watching the sun as it moved across the sky. Nothing happened but the change in daylight and the constant breathing of my ally. When the sun was half way down the sky, she finally began stirring and abruptly woke up, breathing hard with tears streaming down her face.

"Is everything okay?" I asked sincerely.

"No." she said, her shoulders shaking as she stifled a sob.

"Come here." I said, opening my arms up for a hug.

"No, I don't do hugs." She said, scooting away awkwardly.

"Well I can't take no for an answer. Sometimes when you're in the dark all you need is a friend to guide you out, and I'm that friend. It's going to be okay."

She slowly came towards my open arms, and began sobbing on my shoulder. I rubbed her back quietly until she got control of herself. She only spoke until she could cry more tears.

"You want to tell me what's up?" I asked, worried. Surprisingly, she agreed without an argument.

"Ever since I entered these games, I've had these terrible dreams," she began, "they've occurred every night since I've been in the Capitol. I fear going to bed and never waking up, believing that they are real and everything in them is happening."

"What's it about? The dreams, I mean."

"Mostly my siblings back home. Family, I guess. All the people I love and care about. I volunteered for my sister. I love her too much to see her in this nightmare- she would never survive. So when I volunteered, only my sister and brother came to see me off. I've raised them since they were little. My parents were killed many years back, leaving me in charge. I'm more like their mother than I am their sister. This was supposed to be my last year in the games, making me 18. I thought if I could get through this last Reaping then I would be able to protect them from the horrors of these Games. But I guess it was not meant to be. They are all I have left at home, and thinking of them is the only thing keeping me alive."

I thought of this for a second. One, she was 18? She was almost 4 years older than me, and I was the one comforting her. I had to stay strong. Two, she sounded an awful lot like my older sister. Taking care of her siblings, protecting them from the Games. It's people like us that need to stick together and keep each other up when life gets tough.

"I'm going to go hunt some food," she said with a sigh, grabbing her spear. "I'll be back soon."

I ran and gave her a hug. She was the only person I had in these games. She was like the mother I never had.

"Promise?" I said holding out my pinky. It was a small childish motion, but it reminded me of my sister.

"Promise." she agreed as she brought me in for a hug. For a moment, I forgot she wasn't my sister.

As she left the cave, night finally fell over the arena. Hours passed and yet she still didn't return. Towards midnight, I decided to go out and look for her. I grabbed a knife and limped out of the protection of the bush. I followed the tracks of her shoes. The tracks became less, more spread out. I began to freak out. As I came across a large lake, I noticed weeds and logs along the mouth. I walked along the edge listening and noticing every detail. Then something caught my eye. A large log floated along the shore. I ran to it, because something didn't seem right. I reached it within seconds. My heart beat at an unsteady rate. I bent down to observe it more closely.

"NO!" I screamed. "No, please!"

"Wake up! You can't do this to me, don't leave me here alone!" I yelled, tears flowing down my face.

It was my ally, and she was dead.

"You promised!" I cried as a sob crawled out my throat.


End file.
